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POLICY BRIEF ● TERRORISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The primary objectives of an effective counter-terror-

ism effort are to safeguard human rights, strengthen

democracy and uphold the Rule of Law.

The response to terrorism can neither be selective nor lead

to unleashing a wave of unbridled repression, which would,

as a consequence, enormously infringe upon the rights of the

citizens. Thus, it is critical to strike a just balance between

ensuring the security and integrity of the country and safe-

guarding the human rights of the people.

Indeed, there cannot be any compromise in the effort to

root-out terrorism from the country. The state is expected

to, and should, take all possible legal, security, social and

economic measures to neutralise terrorist groups. What,

however, needs to be kept in mind is that in India, the larg-

est democracy of the world, human rights of citizens, which

are non-alienable and are guaranteed by the Constitution,

cannot be allowed to be sacrifi ced. Importantly, Article 21

(Protection of life and personal liberty, or Right to Life), Ar-

ticle 20 (Protection in respect of conviction for offences, or

Protection against Testimonial Compulsion) of the Constitu-

tion cannot be suspended even during an Emergency.

Therefore, counter-terrorism efforts of the State should,

under any circumstances, uphold the Rule of Law, observe

human rights and follow “due processes”. Failure on the part

of the State to do so would only alienate large sections of the

population and unwittingly help the terrorists.

It is equally important to bear in mind that it is the ter-

rorists and terrorist groups which are, without any doubt,

always guilty of gross human rights abuses, and not the

security forces (barring exceptional cases) which are often

maligned by the gullible media and motivated activists. The

violations by the terrorists, however, receive little attention,

especially because of the mortal fear of violent retribution

and victimisation. As a former US Senator, Henry Jackson,

wrote: ``... It is a disgrace that democracies would allow the

treasured word ‘freedom’ to be associated with acts of ter-

rorists”.

STATE VIOLATIONS

Human rights violations by the State and its agencies oc-

cur in various settings: during cordon and search operations,

during encounters –– sometimes genuine and at other times

fake –– or opening fi re in crowded areas, during detention

and interrogation.

A number of factors are responsible for such violations.

These include: lack of transparency and accountability, inad-

equate training and education among security personnel in

observing human rights, lack of scientifi c investigation skills

and tools among the police, defi cient information to, and

investigation by, the police, high levels of stress factor caused

Observer Research Foundation is a public policy think-tank that aims to infl uence formulation of policies for building a strong and prosperous

India. ORF pursues these goals by providing informed and productive inputs, in-depth research and stimulating discussions. The Foundation is

supported in its mission by a cross-section of India’s leading public fi gures, academics and business leaders.

FEBRUARY 2007 POLICY BRIEF # 7

Obser

ver

Res

earch Fou

nd

ation

Terrorism and Human Rights

ORF POLICY BRIEF

By Wilson John and P.V. Ramana

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POLICY BRIEF ● TERRORISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS

by extended tour of duty in conflict theatres under treacher-

ous and taxing conditions, and a moribund judicial system.

In this agenda-driven cacophony of trading charges by

the ‘rights groups’ and the security forces, the perceptions,

saner voices and aspirations of the unbiased sections of the

civil society, as well as those who have fallen victim to human

rights violations are either lost, or are ignored. It might not

be incorrect to state that the unbiased civil society does not

object to the killing of perpetrators of

terrorist acts, but gets enormously dis-

turbed and concerned when innocent

persons fall victim to either terrorist

acts or excesses by the security forces.

On many occasions, concerned citi-

zens from different walks of life have

disapproved, and unequivocally con-

demned, the agencies of the state em-

ploying ‘terrorism as a tool’. In this con-

text, the Supreme Court of India noted

in D.K. Basu vs. state of West Bengal

that: “[S]tate terrorism is no answer to

combat terrorism. State terrorism would only provide legiti-

macy to terrorism: that would only be bad for the [s]tate, the

community and above all the [R]ule of [L]aw. The [State]

must, therefore, ensure that the various agencies deployed

by it for combating terrorism act within the bounds of law

and not become law unto themselves.”

A significant contributing factor for such an avoidable

state of affairs is a lack of preventive intelligence, thus, re-

sulting in ‘ruthless post-event investigation’ by the police. In

considerable measure, intelligence does not come forth eas-

ily and naturally from the people or the community because

of a crisis of confidence in the agencies of the State and for

the fear of being victimised. Therefore, it is of vital impor-

tance for the State to carry along the affected communities

with it and make them a partner, rather than stay in isolation

or detachment from them, in the fight against terrorism. The

terrorists would not be able to operate for long without sup-

port from the people. The State, therefore, can `wean away`

or `win over` the people through a proactive, concerted ef-

fort, isolate the latter and defeat them comprehensively.

In this effort by the State, the intelligentsia, media –– es-

pecially the electronic media –– and non-governmental or-

ganisations can play a significant and useful role. They could

not only infuse confidence among the people against terror-

ists but also act as a bridge between the

community and the State in effectively

combating terrorism.

It is extremely important to train and

educate the security forces –– police,

para-military and the army –– about

the salience, non-violability and impor-

tance of observing the human rights of

the people. The training and education

should focus especially on the lower

rung of the security forces, which, in

large numbers, comes into contact with

the community.

Unfortunately, for a long time after Independence, the

security forces, especially the police, have operated almost

largely as a force of the colonial past. The army, increasingly

getting involved in civilian conflicts, is trained to fight ‘en-

emy soldiers’ and not deal with its fellow countrymen and

women. In the process, there have been many occasions of

allegations of human rights violations by the army. There-

fore, it would be in the interest of the country, the people

and the professional interest of the army itself, that the army

is deployed in the role for which it has been created, than to

perform internal security duties.

At the same time, it is imperative to take a re-look at the

judicial procedures to prosecute those accused of being in-

volved in terrorist activities. Speedy trial is an important ob-

jective to achieve to ensure that the guilty are punished on

time and the innocent are not left awaiting justice.

Unfortunately, for a long time after Independence,

the security forces, especially the police,

have operated almost largely as a force of the

colonial past.

POLICY ACTIONS ● Follow “due procedures”, adhere to the Rule of Law and

function within the ambit of existing laws while combat-

ing terrorism.

● Ensure transparency in, and accountability for, the ac-

tions carried out by the various agencies of State while

responding to terrorism.

● Improve intelligence gathering procedures, systems and

mechanisms.

● Continuously educate and train all the agencies of the

State, especially the security forces, and more important-

ly those in the lower-rung, in the observance of human

rights.

● Human rights should be an integral part of the syllabus

at all institutions training police, para-military and army

men and officers.

● The officer cadre should be given periodic refresher

POLICY BRIEF ● TERRORISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS

These fi ndings and recommendations are drawn largely

from the discussion which the Observer Research Founda-

tion hosted on August 29, 2006. Participants in the discus-

sion included Gen (Retd) VP Malik, former Chief of the Army

Staff and presently President, ORF Institute of Security

Studies, Mr Vikram Sood, former chief, Research and Analy-

sis Wing and presently Advisor to ORF Chairman, Maj Gen

(Retd) Afsir Karim, former member of the National Security

Advisory Board, Maj Gen (Retd) Ramesh Chopra, Mr K S Sub-

ramanian, IPS (Retd), Mr Zafarul-Islam Khan, Editor, The Milli

Gazette, New Delhi, Ms Swati Mehta, Project Offi cer, Com-

monwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi, Mr Wilson

John, Senior Fellow, ORF, and Dr PV Ramana, Research Fellow,

ORF.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Wilson John is a Senior Fellow and P.V. Ramana a Research Fellow with Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi

20, Rouse Avenue, New Delhi-110 002Phone: +91-11-43520020

Fax: +91-11-43520003www.orfonline.org

email: orf@orfonline.org

courses in Human Rights.

● Special Human Rights Offi cers should be deputed to

army, paramilitary and police units deployed in confl ict

zones.

● Institute mechanisms and procedures to reduce stress

among the security forces working in areas affected by

terrorism/insurgency.

● Ensure speedy, fair trial of those accused of being in-

volved in terrorist activities. Revamp judicial processes

and procedures. The number of fast track courts should

be increased.

● The Union Home Ministry should issue instructions to

the police to take utmost care while charging persons in

terrorist cases.

● Severe punishment/reprimand should be given to those

violating the Home Ministry instructions.

● Do not alienate the people, but make them partners in the

fi ght against terrorism.

● Establish police-citizen coordination cells at select vulner-

able confl ict zones. Involve resident welfare associations

in the initiative.

● The intelligentsia, media and non-governmental organi-

sations should be encouraged to create confi dence in the

minds of the people that terrorism can be defeated, and

also function as a bridge between the state and the com-

munity.

● Interest groups must be made to desist from involving in

agenda-driven propaganda on human rights violations.